


Love of a Took

by Sevnaria



Series: One Boarding House to Rule Them All [1]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Relationships, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Yes the Hobbits are Italian, boarding house
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2018-12-23 23:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11999787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sevnaria/pseuds/Sevnaria
Summary: This is what happens when you put an Italian Peregrin Took into a British boarding house with several other international students from LOTR. Feelings, parties and hamburgers ensue.Also, this will eventually be a series with each part focusing on a different couple in the boarding house.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and names belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.

Pippin smiled at the grumpy English taxi driver who handed him his bags and turned to face the boarding house called Bag End, his home for the next six months. It was completely made of stone and its design wasn’t anything like Italian buildings. It had a dark orange colour and looked very, what was the word, rustic? But it could have been the darkness of the late evening that made it look like that.

He swallowed hard as he knocked on the wooden door. He could hear someone approaching it from the other side with hasty steps. 

“Yes?” The chubby blonde woman who opened the door had a friendly voice and Pippin instantly felt at ease.

“My name is Peregrin Took and I’m going to live here starting today”, he explained, hoping she was expecting him. 

“Of course, come on in”, she took one of his bags and showed him inside. The hallway was poorly lit but in a cosy way. She walked ahead of him towards a large whiteboard. He noticed his name on the bottom of a lengthy list. The woman picked up a pen and crossed it off before turning towards him. 

“My name is Rosie Cotton and I’m one of the wardens in this house.” She saw the look of confusion of his face. “Oh, a warden is a person who lives here to make sure everything works and to make sure you all behave,” she gave him a little wink. “There are two of us but my colleague, Denethor, isn’t here tonight. Now, I’ll show you to your room and then you’re free to do whatever you want. I suggest getting some rest and unpacking, say hello to your housemates if you want.”

She walked down the hall and started climbing a staircase on the left, which Pippin had failed to notice. 

“The ground floor is all shared area, there is a big kitchen, living room, backdoor to the garden and such. Students’ rooms are on the first and second floors, we have east and west wings. You’re on the west wing’s first floor.”

Pippin followed without a word, looking around. As they reached the first floor, Pippin could hear people talking and it wasn’t English. It was the sweet language he had grown up with, Italian. 

Rosie went into the room where the voices came from, which turned out to be a kitchen. It was very small and didn’t include a dining area. Pippin saw two guys standing by the stove, cooking something that looked like pasta. He noticed a jar of pesto on the worktop and grinned, of course there would be pesto around when Italians cooked. 

“Good evening boys, what have I said about speaking your native language in the house? Try and keep it to English at all times, please. Here I have a new flatmate to introduce to you. Meet Peregrin Took, also Italian.”

Both strangers smiled at him and Pippin reached out his hand to one of them who introduced himself as Meriadoc Brandybuck, “but you can call me Merry.” 

"In that case you should call me Pippin”, he replied as he turned to the other guy. 

“Samwise Gamgee, or Sam”, he said as they shook hands. “I’m on the second floor.”

“Nice to meet you Sam”, Pippin smiled and glanced at the food they were cooking. He almost started drooling. 

“Would you like to see your room?” Pippin startled. He had almost forgotten that Rosie was still there. 

“Yes, please.” 

“Goodnight boys”, she said to the others and Pippin raised an eyebrow when he saw Sam turn crimson and mumble a goodbye. Interesting, he thought to himself. Then he followed Rosie to a closed door, with a silver four on it, which she unlocked and opened.

“I love it”, Pippin blurted out immediately. 

The room was small but he could see himself living there for a couple of months. It had all the essentials, including a rather large bed and a big window facing south. The walls were painted a deep green, one of Pippin’s favourite colours. The bed had what looked like silk sheets and he couldn’t wait to lie down. 

“I’m glad you like it”, Rosie said and handed him a key. “This goes to your room but also to the front door. If you lose it, you pay for it. Any other questions or are you all set for the night?” 

“Well, how do I get to school?” He wondered if it was a stupid question but he didn’t have a clue.

“It’s just across the street, love, you can’t miss it”, she said with her never-ending smile and put her hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do fine and if you have any problems you can always come to me.”

“Thank you, I will”, he said and meant it. 

She excused herself and suddenly he was alone in his new home. He let out a yawn, exhausted from travelling and decided to lie down for a while. 

 

A strange sound woke him up and he realised he had fallen asleep just like that, fully dressed and without brushing his teeth, resulting in a bad taste in his mouth. He hadn’t even turned off the lights. He sat up and stretched his muscles, intending to undress and go back to sleep, when he heard the noise again. It sounded like a muffled scream, coming from the room next to his. Almost as if someone was in danger. 

Pippin couldn’t bear it and decided against his better judgement to go and take a look. He opened his door carefully and tip-toed to the neighbouring room. He debated with himself whether he should knock or go back to his when he heard a scream. His hand moved by itself and the next second the door stood wide open. 

Nothing would have surprised Pippin more than the sight of two naked, young men on the bed doing whatever two naked, young men would do on a bed. They seemed just as stunned as him, staring at him with mouths shaped like o’s. One of them was Merry from the kitchen, but the other one was someone he didn’t recognise. Pippin found himself being able to move after a couple of seconds and with a stuttering apology he shut the door and fled back to his room. 

He sat down on the bed, too shocked to even think. Then he gave himself a light smack on the cheek and told himself not to be so surprised. This was a house filled with students, of course those kinds of things occurred.

A discreet knock on his door made him tense up.

“Come in.”

It was Merry, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, with messy hair. His face was a little red but had a determined look. 

“Sorry that you had to see that”, he began while closing the door behind him. 

“Please don’t apologise, it was my fault entirely”, Pippin interrupted eagerly. “I just woke up by the, um... noise and thought it was someone in danger.” He blushed at his clumsy explanation.

“Well, I have to admit that you gave us quite a shock, but with those good intentions of yours, I suppose it couldn’t be helped.” The look in Merry’s eyes softened and he sat down beside Pippin on the bed. 

“Is he another student who lives here?” Pippin asked, curious as he was. 

“Yes, his name is Frodo Baggins, also Italian”, he replied with a smile. “But he lives on the second floor.”

“I see, so you came here together then?” Pippin assumed, surprised when Merry started laughing.

“Sorry”, Merry said. “It’s just the thought of us being a couple is... weird.”

“So then why...?”

“Why we have sex?” Merry said bluntly while Pippin blushed once again. “To get some relief in this place and neither of us mind so it sort of just turned out that way.” 

Pippin was very confused but he didn’t want to seem inexperienced so he nodded as if he knew what Merry meant.

“So you don’t have a problem with two guys getting it on?” Merry asked.

“No, not at all”, Pippin said, wondering how much he should tell Merry, him being a stranger. “Let’s just say I’m a very accepting guy.” 

“That’s cool, I’ll let you go back to sleep now. Sorry for waking you up and all.” And with a final smile, Merry was out the door. 

Pippin let out a sigh of relief, glad to have it all cleared up and got undressed before once again going to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Merry woke up early and decided he might as well get ready for school. He’d been at Bag End for nearly four months now, same as Frodo and a couple of the others. Every now and then, new students arrived from all over the world to study English here in Bristol and some of them stayed at Bag End. It was always interesting to see these new people, most of them shy and out of place at first. Merry loved seeing them come out of their shells and laugh with their housemates and just join in on the fun. Sadly, new arrivals meant departures and a couple of times a month there came a day when one or several persons left the house, never to return. They tried to stay in contact of course, Merry had a bunch of phone numbers and email addresses. Most of them, he never heard from. But there were some who sent him messages or called to see how he was doing and what he was up to. 

However, it was easier to concentrate on the ones he could speak to directly and who lived in the same building. Like the new kid next door, Pippin, was it? God, what a shock it had been when he had burst into the room while he and Frodo were in the middle of it. Frodo had forced him to go and apologise for them both. Merry had been nervous that Pippin would be either hostile or scared, but he just seemed a bit nervous and surprisingly accepting. He had left Pippin’s room calmer than when he had gone in.

Merry made the bed, which he had slept in alone since Frodo always went back to his own room during the night. This time he had been gone by the time Merry returned from Pippin’s room. After getting the bed in order, Merry put on a pair of jeans and a shirt. Then it was time for breakfast and he headed to the kitchen. He had just put some butter on his toast when he heard a door opening and Pippin came out, slowly rubbing his eyes while yawning. Not a morning person, he assumed. 

“Good morning”, he said cheerfully.

“Morning”, Pippin mumbled hesitated before opening the fridge. He looked at the numbered shelves, finding number four empty. He looked at it with confusion and Merry realised he hadn’t been told everything the night before. 

“We buy our own food and put it on our shelves, guess Rosie never told you?” Pippin nodded. “She tends to forget such details, but it doesn’t matter, I have enough for two.” Merry offered him one of the toasts and Pippin took it in his hand. 

“Are you sure this is okay?”

“Of course it is, you need to eat, don’t you? Besides, I’ll take you to a nearby supermarket after school, don’t worry.” 

Pippin dug in as Merry prepared some more and Pippin gratefully accepted everything he gave him. Merry noticed he had a bit of an appetite, maybe even bigger than his own, and it took a lot of bread and butter before they were both full. Pippin thanked Merry and offered to help with the dishes. Merry accepted his help and it felt like the beginning of a friendship, standing there and doing the dishes after a shared meal. 

“Who’s this?” A voice asked from behind and they both jumped. Merry turned around and relaxed when he saw who it was. 

“Morning to you too Boromir”, he greeted. “This is Pippin, he arrived last night, he’s in Celeborn’s old room.”

“Nice to meet you”, Pippin said, suddenly shy in front of the tall, strong man. 

“Pippin, meet Boromir”, Merry said and smiled. “He’s German and not as scary as he appears, he’s just grouchy in the morning. He came here two weeks ago.”

Boromir glared at him before grabbing something from the fridge and disappearing.

“He’s actually a nice guy once you get to know him”, Merry tried to sound assuring. 

“Obviously”, Pippin said sarcastically and started drying their plates. “I’m sure he’s loads of fun.”

Merry grinned at the discovery of the new guy’s sense of humour. Then he glanced at the clock on the wall and realised it was time to go.

“Time for school, you ready?” 

Pippin swallowed hard and nodded, he went back to his room to grab his backpack stuffed with pencils and notebooks. It also contained an English dictionary, better safe than sorry. Once he had locked his room he took a deep breath and followed Merry, who had waited for him.

“So, do you know which classroom is your homeroom?” Merry asked as they crossed the street towards the white building that was the school. 

“The purple room, I think”, Pippin replied. 

“Great, that means we’re in the same class”, Merry beamed. “One warning though, Boromir is also with us. But I promise you that he’s really harmless.” He saw Pippin tensing up and sighed. “He’s going to like you once he gets to know you, he treated me pretty unfriendly in the beginning as well but he soon warmed up.”

“I guess so”, Pippin said, sounding doubtful. 

“Well, here we are”, Merry said when they passed the school gate. 

“It’s beyond my expectations”, Pippin observed the flowerbeds surrounding the building and the many large windows on the walls. He could see some students sitting outside the large door on the steps, basking in the sunshine during the last minutes before the lessons would begin.

“Hi guys”, Merry greeted them with a wave, motioning for Pippin to follow. “This is Pippin, he came late last night and he’s my new neighbour.”

“Nice to meet you”, Pippin said and tried to smile at them. 

“Nice to meet you too Pippin”, the blonde girl said. “I’m Éowyn and this guy here is my brother, Éomer”, she pointed at the blonde, muscular guy sitting next to her. 

“Swedish”, Merry whispered in his ear.

“I’m Gimli”, the third person said, a robust guy with an impressive beard. Merry didn’t need to inform him that Gimli was Russian, Pippin could tell from the heavy accent.

“They all live in Bag End”, Merry explained. 

Then they made their way into the school and Merry fired off greetings constantly, sometimes taking the time to introducing someone to Pippin. There was a bunch of Spanish girls, giggling to themselves, a pair of sullen Bulgarian guys and an overly excited older man who said hello to everyone he met and smiled widely. 

“The principal, Bilbo”, Merry said and nodded towards the man. 

“Is he always like that?” Pippin watched as the principal ruffled the hair of one of the Bulgarians, telling them to cheer up.

“He likes to think of himself as a friend of the students, rather than a principal. But he’s pretty cool and his door is always open if you need anything.”

They walked up to a purple door and Merry put his hand on the doorknob. 

“Welcome to the purple room”, he said and opened, letting Pippin go ahead. 

The room had a couple of desks with chairs attached to them, a teacher’s desk, a blackboard, a television on the wall and a huge window. And everything was a different shade of purple, the walls, floor and ceiling as well. Merry watched him with a cunning smile and took a seat in the back corner. Pippin sat down next to him and before Merry could react, Boromir entered the room and fixed his gaze on Pippin.

“That’s my spot” he growled and walked up to Pippin. 

“S-sorry”, he said and fumbled to get out of the chair as quick as possible. From the corner of his eye he could see Merry standing up. 

“Relax Boromir”, he said and looked the bigger guy straight in the eyes. “It was my fault, okay? I didn’t tell him that we had designated seats. You don’t have to act like such a bully.”

Boromir looked slightly ashamed.

“Sorry”, he blurted out before sitting down. 

“It’s okay”, Pippin said reflexively, surprised that he actually apologised. 

“That seat is free”, Merry said and pointed at the chair in front of him. 

Pippin sat down just as the bell rang and a bunch of students came in, eyeing him curiously. Some said hello and some just sat down. The last person to enter was an old man with white hair and beard. 

“Settle down everyone”, he said as he leaned against the desk. “We have two new students this week, Peregrin Took”, he motioned for Pippin to come forth, “and Lobelia Sackville.” A girl joined Pippin in front of the rest of the class. “Introduce yourselves.”

“I’m Pippin, from Venice in Italy, 20 years old”, he didn’t know what more to say. He glanced towards Merry and Boromir and got an encouraging smile from the first and a cryptic stare from the other.

“Nice to meet you Pippin”, the old man said. “My name is Gandalf Grey and I’m going to be your teacher while you’re here.” 

Pippin nodded and smiled a little while Lobelia introduced herself to the class. The only thing he could remember about her was that she came from Turkey.

“Nice to meet you Lobelia”, Gandalf said and gave them permission to sit down again. While sitting, the rest of the class shortly introduced themselves as well. “Now that introductions have been made we’ll begin today’s lesson. Can anyone remember what we talked about last Friday?”


	3. Chapter 3

Boromir had not had a great day. It began when he woke up, sweating from a nightmare. When he went to the kitchen there was someone he didn’t know there and before he could stop himself he had asked who it was, and not in a particularly nice way. The boy looked scared and that pissed him off further, he wasn’t that scary, was he? He grabbed something to eat and retreated to his room without another word. 

After a while he could hear the two of them leaving for school and he got ready to follow their example. He left his room at the same time as the guy next door, Isildur. He nodded at the Icelandic and they departed for school together in silence, none of them being very talkative in the mornings. 

Arriving to the classroom, feeling as tired as ever, Boromir noticed someone sitting in his spot. Anger filled him and he lashed out on the boy, who just so happened to be the same as this morning. Again, he seemed scared and Boromir concluded that he must be of the “oversensitive” kind. But then Merry interfered and said that Boromir behaved like a bully and Boromir thought he must be joking. Then he realised that he might have been a bit harsh on the kid and apologised. 

The rest of the day had flown by smoothly and Pippin had even asked him for help with his grammar, something Boromir hadn’t expected. He was happy to help though, and sort of glad that he had been asked instead of Merry. When the time came for lunch he even got invited to go with the two Italians to some nearby restaurant Merry knew of. He accepted and earned himself a smile from Pippin, whose attitude seemed to have changed since they first met the same morning. 

The lunch was pleasant, the food was really tasty and the company entertaining. Merry had started telling them stories from high school and Boromir found some of his stories hard to believe. Then Pippin surprised them both when he started opening up and tell some pretty funny tales too. By the end of the meal they were all laughing like long-time friends, which felt kind of nice. Boromir had clumsily tried to explain his grumpy greeting in the kitchen and they told him it wasn’t so bad. 

“What did I tell you, Pip”, Merry grinned. “Harmless and nice when you get to know him.” 

“Pip?” Pippin asked confused.

“You don’t mind, do you? I find it easier to call you that.”

“It’s alright, just not used to anything other than Pippin”, he smiled. 

“I’m going to stick with Pippin, it’s nice”, Boromir said out loud, although he had meant to keep the thought in his head. He saw how Pippin blushed a bit and raised his eyebrow, it was a most intriguing sight. 

“Should we go back?” Merry asked, unaware of the strange tension between the other two. 

“Yeah, let’s”, Boromir agreed and after paying they left for their afternoon classes. 

 

When Gandalf let them go after the last lesson, which had consisted of some animal role-playing (don’t ask), the newly founded trio went back to the house whilst chatting happily. 

“Merry!” a voice shouted and they turned around to see Sam coming towards them. 

“Hi there Sam”, Merry replied.

“Could you help me with something?” 

“Sure, what is it?” 

Sam fidgeted and glanced at Pippin and Boromir. They got the hint and started walking ahead. Just as they entered the house, Merry caught up with them. 

“Sorry, I gotta go do something”, he said. “See you later?” 

The other two nodded and Merry went back to Sam, the two taking off down the road. As soon as Pippin lost sight of them he remembered something and groaned. 

“What’s the matter?” Boromir asked in a worried tone.

“It’s just that Merry was supposed to take me shopping for food, I don’t have anything to eat.” He looked miserable. “You don’t happen to have the address to the closest supermarket?”

“I can do you one better, I’ll go with you.” Boromir turned around in the doorway and started walking towards the same way Merry and Sam had gone.

“You really don’t have to follow me, I’m sure you have better things to do”, Pippin said, trailing behind him. 

“Not a problem, I need to stock up on some things myself”, Boromir reassured him. 

The sun was shining when they walked the relatively short distance. Pippin, having found his tongue at last, was talking almost non-stop the entire way and Boromir found that he didn’t mind listening. 

“There it is”, he said, interrupting Pippin in the middle of a sentence. 

Pippin's eyes lit up as he saw the building that contained nothing but food, a supermarket named Grey Haven. He took Boromir by the arm and almost ran into the store. 

 

An eternity later they left the store. They had a total of eight plastic bags, divided evenly between them, stuffed with a little bit of everything. Boromir’s share of the food had fit in one bag, the rest of it belonged to Pippin. Boromir couldn’t understand how he would fit all of it in his kitchen space. 

“Thanks for the help”, Pippin huffed as they neared the house. 

“No problem.”

“I owe you one, don’t hesitate to ask whenever you need something.”

Boromir promised to come straight to him and sat down the bags to take out his key and unlock the house. When they came in they decided to go and drop off their stuff before doing anything else. 

It was hard to believe but within a few minutes, Pippin had somehow managed to fit all his food into his designated space. Boromir just stood there, jaw dropped. 

“Shall we go downstairs? Merry mentioned something about a common room.”

“Sure, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the bunch”, Boromir said, although he didn’t know them all too well. They went downstairs and entered the living room where a pair of guys was playing what seemed to be trivial pursuit. He was just about to present Pippin when one of the guys stood up and accused another of cheating. 

“The guy who just stood up is Gimli, the accused cheater is Legolas”, he mumbled to Pippin.

“I’ve met Gimli before, but where is Legolas from?”

“France, acts pretty arrogant at times but he’s a good guy, although he’s really fussy about his long hair so don’t mess with it”, Boromir replied and turned back towards the gaming group just in time to see something large coming flying through the air, heading straight for them. He embraced Pippin and shielded him from the projectile, which hit the wall next to them. 

“Are you okay?” He asked Pippin as he let go of him. 

“Yeah”, Pippin mumbled, cheeks flushed. 

Boromir turned around facing Gimli who still had his hand lifted. 

“You idiot”, he shouted. “You could have seriously hurt someone.”

The silence that followed his outburst was deafening and then a guy came in from the kitchen which was situated next door. Boromir didn’t recognise him so he must have moved to Bad End recently.

“What’s going on?” The newcomer asked while taking in the scene in front of him. 

“This moron”, Boromir gestured towards Gimli, ”almost hit us with something.” That reminded him, what had he thrown?

“It was just a pillow”, Gimli defended himself. “It wasn’t my intention anyway, I was aiming for Frenchy here.” He motioned towards Legolas.

“Nevertheless, it was a reckless move”, the new guy reprimanded. 

“I’m sorry but who are you anyway?” Boromir asked, getting slightly annoyed at this stranger who acted all high and mighty. 

“The name’s Aragorn”, he said with a grin. 

“Well Aragorn”, Boromir began, “thank you for scolding Gimli but I don’t see how this has anything to do with you.”

“I think keeping the peace in the house is my business and ipso facto I’m going to do what I can to keep it.” Aragorn finished with a small smirk which irritated Boromir. 

“What’s all the fuss about?” Rosie came into the room with furrowed brows. 

“Gimli threw a pillow, which almost hit Boromir who understandably yelled at him and then Aragorn entered and joined the scolding, something that seemed to annoy Boromir but I think the argument’s close to being settled”, said a voice and everyone looked at Legolas. “Am I wrong?” He asked with an expressionless face. 

“I think that’s everything”, Pippin smiled against Rosie. 

“So we’re good?” Gimli asked, looking at Boromir.

“You just have to apologise.” 

“Fine, I’m sorry”, Gimli rolled his eyes. 

“Glad everything’s sorted”, Rosie said, smiling towards all of them. Then she left the room humming, leaving them in an awkward silence. 

“Nice to meet you all and good night”, Aragorn said and left.

“Strange guy”, Boromir muttered before turning to Pippin. “Want to go eat something before going to bed?” 

“Yes, I’ve been dying to try that pizza we bought”, Pippin said and went ahead of Boromir.

“Sorry for lashing out like that”, Boromir said to Gimli before exiting the room. 

“No problem”, he heard Gimli’s voice before the door closed behind him. 

Pippin had hurried up to the kitchen and was already taking out the pizzas from the freezer when Boromir caught up with him. Compared to this morning, he was like a different person, Boromir thought to himself. Then again, the same could be said for himself. In both cases, the change was welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the week went by rather quickly, the days consisting of school and hanging around in the house. Pippin had yet to explore the city, busy as he was with homework and settling in at the house. He had met almost all the residents by now, some more peculiar than others. The rooms were divided evenly between the first and second floor, as well as the west and east wing. On his floor, there was himself, Boromir, Merry and an older Icelandic guy called Isildur who kept to himself most of the time. Above them, on the west wing’s second floor, lived Frodo, Sam, Legolas and Éomer. The rest of the boarders were in the east wing, which had a separate staircase from the ground floor. Merry had told Pippin that there were only five residents who Pippin had yet to meet. He had heard that one of them was called Sméagol and for some reason everyone referred to him as “creepy”.

Pippin had been guided around the house and there was a laundry room in the basement, Boromir had shown him how the different machines work since Pippin had never washed his own clothes in his entire life. In the basement were also the wardens’ rooms. Rosie was kind and constantly smiling while Denethor was her complete opposite. Pippin had met him on his third day at the house and Denethor had scolded him for running in the staircase. Pippin had tried his best to avoid the old, scowling man ever since. Thankfully, he didn’t spend as much time in the house as Rosie. 

 

“Finally, weekend”, Pippin exclaimed and turned around to look at Merry and Boromir while their classmates shuffled out of the classroom. “What should we do?” 

“What we always do”, Merry grinned. “Party, of course.”

“It’s inevitable”, Boromir nodded. “Almost every weekend is the same, on Friday or Saturday we party and the day after we recover.”

“Every weekend?” Pippin raised a brow.

“Every weekend”, Merry confirmed. “Let’s go to the Grey Haven right now and get something to drink for tonight. They have the world’s greatest beer, Birra Moretti.”

“Never heard of it”, Boromir shrugged. 

“It’s Italian and much like anything that comes from Italy, it’s fabulous.” Merry winked at Pippin who started laughing. 

“Well, for your information, the best beer in the world comes from Germany. And you can take that to the bank.”

“Please tell me you did not just quote ´Hard to kill’”, Merry chuckled. 

“What of it?”

“Oh nothing, it’s just the worst action movie ever”, Merry tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t help but laugh at Boromir’s angered face. Then he let out a small scream when Boromir tried to grab him by the arm. He ran while continuing laughing and Boromir followed. Pippin started laughing as well and tried to keep up with his friends as they went to get their beverages for the evening. 

 

That night, a lot of people had gathered in the ground floor kitchen and living room. Not only the house residents, but some of their friends had come as well. Thankfully, Denethor was gone for the weekend and Rosie was in charge. She had asked them to keep it down a bit while in the house, for her own as well as the neighbours’ sake. 

Pippin met more of his housemates; Elendil, Faramir and the rumoured Sméagol. Elendil was Japanese and didn’t say much, Faramir was German like Boromir and Pippin learned that they were distant relatives. Sméagol came from Albania and was an oddball, to say the least. He sat by himself in a corner and barely answered Pippin when he tried to talk to him. Merry explained that he usually sat by himself and seemed to dislike company. Later Pippin saw him talking to himself while tenderly touching a golden ring on his finger and he decided to keep his distance. 

They played drinking games and Pippin really enjoyed himself. He talked to a lot of different people but found himself by Boromir’s side more often than not. The older boy seemed to appreciate his company as well and they teamed up against some other students in a game of beer pong. Apparently, Boromir was some sort of beer pong champion, and they won without breaking a sweat. They celebrated their victory with some jello shots that Éowyn had spent the afternoon preparing. 

Suddenly people started clearing out and Pippin asked where everyone was going. 

“The real partying starts now”, Merry said and grinned. “Go get your ID and meet me outside.”

Pippin sprinted upstairs and grabbed his wallet from his room, making sure his ID was in it. Then he put on his jacket and went downstairs, mildly confused. Merry stood by the door and motioned for him to go outside, where a few people waited. 

“Let’s go”, Merry said and started leading the way. Pippin ended up walking next to Legolas and although they hadn’t talked much since the trivial pursuit-incident, Pippin found it easy to make conversation. 

After a while they came to a halt and Pippin realised they were in the city centre, outside a large building with a neon sign reading “The Prancing Pony.” 

“Here it is, the most awesome night club in Bristol”, Merry exclaimed and Pippin thought he looked a bit like a tour guide standing in front of the group. “If it’s our first time here, prepare yourselves”, he said with a wide grin.

“He’s being overly dramatic as usual”, Legolas whispered to Pippin. “It’s just a normal club, nothing to worry about.” 

After paying the entrance fee and turning in their jackets they went upstairs and entered a room through a door. Pippin was told there were several different rooms with their own music and that he was free to move between them as much as he wanted. The first room consisted of a large dance floor and a couple of couches along the walls. It was absolutely packed with people and most of them were clearly intoxicated but then again, so were his companions. Pippin himself didn’t feel very drunk but not really sober either. 

“Come on Pip”, someone said in his ear and he turned to see Merry. The rest of the group had left during his observations of the room. “Let’s get you something to drink”, Merry pulled him towards the bar and ordered two beers for them. Pippin insisted that he’d pay for his own but Merry didn’t let him, saying it was his way of properly welcoming Pippin to Bristol.

“I’m buying the next round then”, Pippin muttered. 

“Sounds good mate”, Merry smiled. “Cheers.”

After that first beer, Pippin was dragged around the entire club by Merry, who continued to buy him drinks throughout the night and at one point Pippin became conscious of the fact that he was definitely affected by the alcohol. But that didn’t bother him, it served to boost his confidence on the dance floor when he accompanied Merry. He didn’t know if he sent out a certain vibe or if the fact that he was dancing with another guy was some sort of invitation, but after a while he could feel someone dancing behind his back and this someone started touching him. He could tell it was a guy from the rough hands running up his sides and the evident hardness brushing against his bottom. He shivered and froze on the spot, silently freaking out. Merry soon noticed his situation and went berserk. 

“Let go of him”, he shouted and pulled Pippin towards him. 

“Sorry, I didn’t realise he was taken”, the guy said and quickly escaped. 

Pippin’s knees gave in suddenly but Merry had a firm grip around him and helped him stay on his feet.

“I’m sorry”, Pippin said with a pale face. 

“Don’t say that, it’s not your fault”, Merry’s voice furious. “Let’s go find the others.” He held his arm protectively around Pippin’s waist to ward off any other potential gropers. They made their way back to the first room they had been in and spotted some of their housemates. Pippin’s upset appearance caused the others to ask what had happened. Merry gave them a censored version and Pippin immediately received comforting words from them all. He smiled weakly and thanked them but assured them he was fine. He looked around to see if Boromir was among them and thankfully he wasn’t. He still felt embarrassed about being harassed as a guy. 

“So, did someone get lucky tonight?” Merry asked to change the subject. 

“Well yeah, can’t you see who’s missing”, Éomer grinned. 

When Pippin heard those words, he took another look around and realised that Boromir was the only one absent from the group. He felt sick to his stomach and couldn’t even fake a smile. 

“He’s spending the night outside the house?” Merry asked curiously and Pippin wished he could tell him to shut up. 

“It sure looks that way”, Faramir answered and pointed to a corner of the room.

Pippin looked over automatically and a second later he really wished he hadn’t. Boromir was making out with some random girl and looked like he was enjoying himself. While the others laughed and cheered him on, Pippin backed away from the group and ran out of the room. He could hear someone calling his name but he didn’t want anyone to witness the tears that had started to roll down his cheeks. 

Someone grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop and turn around. When he saw that it was Legolas his mouth shaped an “O.” 

“Come here”, Legolas said and dragged Pippin into a corner where they sat down on a couch. 

“I was just...” Pippin began to explain but Legolas hushed him. 

“Just let it out”, he said and enveloped Pippin in a hug.

Pippin relaxed in the embrace and when he did the tears started to fall again. His shoulders started shaking and he hid his face against Legolas’ chest while Legolas patted him on the head in a comforting manner. It helped that the club was about to close so there were not a lot of people around. 

“What happened?” A very familiar voice asked.

Pippin looked over Legolas arm and saw Boromir watching him with worry. 

“It doesn’t concern you”, Legolas snapped and Pippin flinched a little at the tone. 

“What...” Boromir began in an upset voice.

“You heard me, you’re in the way here”, Legolas pulled Pippin closer. 

Pippin didn’t dare to meet Boromir’s eyes and tried to discreetly wipe away his tears on his sleeve. Boromir hesitated but left them and Pippin assumed he returned to the girl from before. 

“You okay?” Legolas asked, taking Pippin’s face gently in his hands. 

“Yeah, thank you”, Pippin answered and tried to smile.

“He’s not worth it”, Legolas said and placed a kiss on Pippin’s forehead, it felt like something his mother would do.

“I hadn’t even realised that I liked him and it’s already over.” Pippin laughed at his own stupidity. 

“Sometimes it just happens, just know that you’re too good for him and there are lots of great fish in the sea.” 

Pippin just nodded, feeling exhausted. “I think I’ll head home now and I’d rather be alone for a while, but thank you.”

“See you at home then, get a taxi”, Legolas stood up. “And know that I have a shoulder for you to cry on whenever you need it and ears that will gladly listen anytime.”

Pippin thanked him again and watched him walk away. After that he left the club by himself and decided to walk home rather than take a taxi, since it was relatively close and he wanted to clear his head a bit. It had been a long night and all he wanted was to lie down and sleep, preferably forever. It had not been the greatest of nights for the poor Italian.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Boromir woke up with the worst headache he’d ever had. He groaned into his pillow and wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the day. But that wasnät possible. He couldn’t remember much of the previous night but the crying face of Pippin had stuck and haunted his dreams. He needed to make sure the Italian was okay. He had a feeling Legolas was somehow involved and if he was the cause of Pippin’s tears Boromir would make him regret it.

After five minutes of squirming he managed to leave the comfort of the bed and slowly got dressed. Once he was done he left his room, a bit unsteady on his feet, and made his way over to Pippin’s room. He raised his hand and knocked softly a few times before waiting for some sort of response. 

Nothing happened and he knocked again, harder this time. Still no answer, so he banged his fist against the wood, anxious to get a sign of life.

“Jeez Louise”, he heard a voice as the door beside Pippin’s opened. “Keep it down will ya?” Merry said and yawned. 

“Do you know if Pippin is still asleep?” Boromir asked. 

“He left about an hour ago, looking like crap”, Merry grinned. “Partying too hard will do that to you.”

“You know where he went?” 

“No idea, sorry”, Merry yawned once more and closed the door. 

Boromir didn’t know where to begin. Should he go search for Pippin, ask around if anyone knew where he’d gone or wait until he returned? Something told him that time was of the essence so he didn’t fancy waiting. Searching at random didn’t sound that smart either, considering Bristol was a pretty big city. Therefore it had to be the third option.

When Legolas opened the door, Boromir had to stop himself from commenting on his appearance. Legolas hair was, for once, not in order and he looked beat. He had a sheet covering his body from the waist down.

“What do you want?” He grumbled. 

“Where is Pippin?” 

“How should I know”, Legolas asked and began to shut the door. 

Boromir grabbed the door and held it open.

“I’m not leaving without an answer. Spit it out, I saw how close you two were last night and God have mercy on your soul if you were the one who made him cry.” 

Surprisingly, Legolas took a step forward and stuck his face up close to Boromir’s. He looked furious as he grabbed Boromir by his shirt. 

“If I made him cry?” He smiled humourlessly. “You would hurt me if I made him cry, that’s hilarious.” 

“What do you mean?” Boromir asked, utterly confused.

“It’s just a pretty rich statement, coming from the actual culprit.” 

“What, I never...” Boromir sputtered desperately. 

“He cried because of you but it’s not up to me to tell you why, you’ll have to clear that up with him”, Legolas said and began to close the door but Boromir blocked it.

“Just tell me where he is then”, he practically begged now but he felt awful knowing he was the reason for Pippin’s tears. 

“Are you deaf or just plain stupid, I said I don’t know”, Legolas said annoyed.

Then Boromir heard it, the faint sound of someone moving around in a bed. He glared at Legolas and pushed him aside as he forced his way into the room. 

He flicked the light on and saw the shape of a person under the covers.

“Stop it”, Legolas shouted and came towards him.

Boromir ignored him and pulled the cover off with a swift movement. 

“Bloody hell”, a stark naked Gimli muttered and pulled the cover back up. “Leave me out of your stupid, loud fight.” With that he went back to sleep and Boromir could feel his cheeks burning.

“Curiosity satisfied?” Legolas asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm. He proceeded to lie down beside Gimli and stroked him affectionately across the cheek. “That’s how it is”, he continued. “Now, would you please turn off the lights and leave?”

Boromir just nodded absently, still slightly shocked from the sight. He hurried out of the room.

“Think about why you were so eager to find out who I spent the night with”, Legolas said as Boromir left the room. 

What a strange question, obviously he’d just wanted to know if it was Pippin. But why? When he really thought about it he realised that he had no right to be upset. The young Italian was free to spend the night with whoever he wanted, right?

The revelation that it was in fact he himself who had made Pippin cry gnawed on his conscience. The thing was, he didn’t know what he’d done to upset him. Boromir thought of himself as a generally nice guy, not some jerk who would make a friend cry. And why would Pippin confide in Legolas of all people? Why not just tell Boromir straight up what he’d done wrong?  
´  
The questions were many and the only one who could answer them had gone off somewhere. Boromir contemplated whether he should go out and search at random or sit down and wait. He realised that the odds of finding Pippin were probably not in his favour and decided to wait.


	6. Chapter 6

Pippin had woken up early and immediately recalled everything about last night. His eyes hurt from crying himself to sleep and he felt the need to wash up. He left his room after carefully listening for any sounds that would indicate that anyone else was awake. 

Hearing nothing but silence, he opened the door and sprinted towards the nearest bathroom. He in the mirror and gawked at the sight. His eyes were puffy and his hair was a mess. He splashed some water in his face and dried off. On his way back to the room he heard a door opening and jumped. Luckily, it was only Merry and he sighed in relief. 

“Morning”, he said as he opened his own door.

“Morning to you too”, Merry answered with a yawn and started walking towards the bathroom. “Rough night?” 

“You have no idea”, Pippin mumbled and closed the door behind him. He got dressed and went out, careful not to draw any attention to himself. He nodded to the newly relieved Merry as he descended the stairs. He didn’t know where to go, just that he couldn’t face Boromir so soon after the "incident". 

It was a sunny day and the birds tweeted happily as if to mock him. Wasn’t England supposed to be the land of never ending rain? Talk about false marketing. Rain and grey skies would certainly have been a weather better suited for Pippin’s current mood.

He walked around aimlessly for a while, barely noticing his surroundings. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the Suspension Bridge, Bristol’s pride and joy. He started walking across it but stopped halfway. Staring down into the water far below, he couldn’t help thinking about what would happen if he were to jump. 

He wouldn’t want to die, definitely not. However, if he could get injured enough to be sent back home, all his problems would be solved. A broken bone should do the trick. Of course, he could just drop out and go home. However, that would mean he would have to explain why and he wasn’t confident he would be able to come up with something plausible. His hands tightened around the metal railing.

“Hey”, someone shouted and Pippin fell backwards from the shock. He was caught by a pair of strong arms which could only belong to... not Boromir. He sighed at the sight of Aragorn. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked and stood up, annoyed that he had been interrupted during his much-needed alone time.

“I was about to ask you the same thing”, Aragorn said with a deep frown. 

“None of your business.” Pippin started walking back off the bridge. He could hear Aragorn following him but decided to ignore him rather than argue. 

They walked for a couple of minutes, away from the bridge and towards the city centre. 

“Can I get you something to eat?” Aragorn suddenly asked, breaking the heavy silence.

Pippin followed his gaze to a pub across the street. He was about to give him a snide comment when his stomach rumbled. He nodded silently and let Aragorn take the lead. They went inside and to Pippin’s surprise the barkeeper greeted Aragorn by name.

“Morning Aragorn, you alright?”

“Hi Matt”, Aragorn smiled. “Just fine, and you?”

“Same as always, still trying to figure out that card trick you pulled the other day.” 

“Good luck with that”, Aragorn grinned.

“Yeah, yeah, what can I do for you today? The usual?”

“You know it.”

“And for your friend?” Matt shifted his attention towards Pippin. 

“He’ll have the same”, Aragorn said before Pippin had a chance to answer for himself. He glared at Aragorn, who shrugged his shoulders with an innocent smile. 

“Fine”, Pippin muttered and turned around to find an empty table for them. This was quite an easy task, seeing as the only other customers were a pair of old men who sat at the bar and discussed sports over some pints. 

Pippin settled at the closest table, longing for something to eat, even though he hadn’t been allowed to pick what.

Aragorn sat down beside him and gave him an inquiring look. Pippin was certain he would ask him about the bridge so he spoke up first. 

“How come you’re friends with an English barkeeper?” He asked, genuinely curious. 

“Oh, you mean Matt? I came here on my first day in the city and found that the food was, and still is, delicious. This is my tenth visit, so I guess you could call me a regular, kind of.”

“Ten times in two weeks?” Pippin exclaimed. “That’s insane, and sort of dedicated”, he unwillingly admitted. 

“You’ll become one too after today”, Aragorn assured him. 

“We’ll see about that”, Pippin said and felt his lips slowly curl upwards, forming his first smile of the day.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you like it?” Aragorn asked, amused.

“Mm”, was all Pippin managed to say while he had his mouth full of what had to be a piece of heaven. 

Matt had just brought them their food, which turned out to be some regular-looking burgers. Unimpressed, Pippin had taken a bite and couldn’t believe his own taste buds. There was just no way this was food made by a human being. The whole thing was made with perfection and a hint of magic (the only logical explanation). 

Aragorn had to wait for him to finish the burger before he could get Pippin’s opinion. 

“Amazing”, he gasped after finally having swallowed the last bite. 

“Here”, Aragorn said and handed him a pint of beer which Pippin hadn’t noticed during his burger-frenzy. 

He wasn’t sure he should be drinking this early in the day but he was thirsty and so he practically downed the glass. 

Three hours and countless beers later, Pippin found himself opening up to Aragorn completely. He told him everything, without holding back or sparing Aragorn the details. After Pippin’s story, Aragorn rubbed his temples and tried to take in the information.

"Let me get this straight”, he said, carefully weighing his next words. “You’re in love with Boromir?” He decided to go for the blunt approach. 

"Yeah, but he’s in love with that stupid girl”, Pippin slurred. “So now I have to break my leg, can you help me?” 

Aragorn didn’t understand the last part but thought it best not to ask.

“No need for that, can’t you just talk to him?” 

“No”, Pippin groaned. “He’ll hate me and I don’t want that, he’s become one of my best friends, I can’t...” Pippin stopped abruptly and put his hands over his mouth. Aragorn realised what was happening and dragged Pippin to the bathroom, which thankfully was situated right next to their table. 

They made it just in time and Pippin threw up in the toilet and Aragorn patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. 

“Sorry”, Pippin said after a few minutes. 

“Nah, don’t worry about it”, Aragorn answered. “It happens to the best of us.” He handed Pippin some paper towels and left the bathroom. 

“He okay?” Matt asked.

“He’s fine, just a bit too much to drink.”

“I’ll say, kid’s got a higher tolerance than me”, Matt said impressed. 

Pippin came out of the bathroom on shaky legs.

“There’s a taxi waiting outside”, Matt informed with a smile.

“Thanks Matt”, Aragorn said. “I owe you one.” He paid for their food and proceeded to escort Pippin out of the pub. 

When they arrived at the house, Pippin tensed up at the thought of meeting Boromir. Aragorn seemed to have read his thoughts.

“You’ll need to talk to him sooner or later”, Aragorn said as they walked up to the door. 

“I’d prefer later”, Pippin swallowed hard and opened the door, assisted by Aragorn who held a hand on Pippin’s back. 

“There you are”, Legolas smiled at Pippin when they entered the living room. He sat alone in front of the television. 

Pippin tried to return the smile and sat down on the couch. Aragorn joined him and that made Legolas raise his brow and give them meaningful looks. 

“Real funny”, Pippin murmured and felt like he would fall asleep any second. He closed his eyes and soon drifted away.

“He’s drunk”, Aragorn explained when Pippin fell asleep. 

“In the middle of the day?” Legolas raise a brow.

“Yeah, sort of my fault”, Aragorn admitted.

THUD. Pippin’s head landed on Aragorn’s shoulder and Legolas smirked.

“So that’s your plan, get him drunk and take advantage of him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I just listened to him talk about Boromir.”

“What about me?” A weary Boromir stood at the door. 

“Nothing”, Aragorn said evasively. 

“Nice try, what did he say about me?”

“That’s not for me to tell you”, Aragorn persisted. 

“Then I guess I’ll just have to wait until Pippin wakes up”, Boromir stated and sat down in an armchair.

Aragorn and Legolas shared a look.

"Alright then", Aragorn said and made himself comfortable.


	7. Chapter 7

When Pippin opened his eyes again he felt well rested.

“Morning sunshine”, Legolas said and made Pippin aware of the fact that he wasn’t in his bedroom. He realised his head was resting on Aragorn’s shoulder and bolted upright. 

"Sorry”, he mumbled, embarrassed. 

“Nothing to worry about, it’s kind of my own fault anyway”, Aragorn smiled. “Feeling better?” 

Pippin nodded slowly, he couldn’t believe he’d been drunk in the middle of the day, 

“What time is it?”

“Around six, we were thinking of going out for dinner in a while”, Aragorn said. 

“Sounds good to me”, Pippin said. 

“However, before that we’re going to have a talk.”

Oh. Dear. Lord. Pippin turned towards the voice and cringed inwards. What was Boromir doing here and how long had he been watching him sleep? He thought about the situation and decided to go with the band-aid method, just rip it off and be done with it. 

"Sure, my room?" Pippin tried to sound casual even though he was freaking out inside.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Pippin sat down on his bed and the mattress sunk a few centimeters, along with his heart. Boromir closed the door and sat down next to him. 

"Now, just tell me everything", he said. "Why did you cry last night and why does everyone seem to think that I'm to blame for it?"

Pippin had no idea where to start, he was already beginning to come up with excuses to post-pone this discussion. 

"Listen, I was tired and just upset I guess. A few too many drinks probably", Pippin tried to laugh but it sounded fake even to him. 

"Yeah, sure, and now let's try going with the truth." 

Pippin twisted his hands in his lap and stayed silent. After a long awkward silence, Boromir suddenly slammed his fist down on the bed and Pippin jumped and looked up at Boromir.

"Shit, I didn't mean to do that", Boromir balled his hands into fists and took a deep breath. "It's just that I have no idea where I stand with you now. One second we get along like we've known each other forever and the next I'm apparently making you cry. And since I cannot for the life of me understand why, could you please just tell me?"

Pippin stared at him, mouth agape. He hadn't even considered the possibility that Boromir might be hurting from this whole thing too, he had been too selfishly focused on his own pain. 

"I'm so sorry", he said in complete earnest before bracing himself. "It's not something you did, it's my own damn fault and these stuid feelings." It just slipped out of him.

"What feelings?"

Pippin stood up, when it came to fight or flight, he was more prone to do the latter. He took a step towards the door but Boromir grabbed his hand and stopped him. 

"Don't run from this, just say it", he tried not to sound angry. 

Pippin could feel tears welling up in his eyes but since he had his back towards Boromir, it was okay. He tried not to think too much about the fact that his hand were in Boromir's and decided that this was the moment of truth.

"I kinda like you, okay?" 

The grip on his hand loosened a bit and it broke Pippin's heart. Not that he could really blame Boromir for it. 

"I get that it's weird and all, so please forget about it and I'll stay out of your way", Pippin tore his hand from Boromir's and opened the door. 

"Wait", Boromir shouted and Pippin stopped, preparing himself for whatever may come.

"Give me a few days, and I'll give you my answer", Boromir said in a tone that Pippin thought sounded strangely sincere. However, he didn't want to dwell on it now, so he nodded and quickly left the room. 

Pippin didn't want to go back to the others, he just wanted to be alone. Unfortunately, his room was occupied with the last person he wanted to meet right now and so his feet took him down the stairs to someone unrelated to the whole matter. 

"Yes?" Frodo opened his door within seconds. He looked surprised when he saw Pippin. 

"Hey, I know this is strange and we barely know each other but could I hang out in your room for awhile without you asking me why or telling anyone that I'm here?" He talked fast and in one breath and he could only imagine how he must have looked with his disheveled hair and teary eyes. 

"Sure", Frodo said without missing a beat and opened the door for Pippin. "I was just watching a movie, wanna join me?" He motioned towards the bed where he had a movie paused on his laptop and popcorn. 

"Sounds good", Pippin answered and sat down next to Frodo. "And thank you." 

"No worries", Frodo said. "Besides, a classic like 'Hard to kill' deserves an audience of at least two."

Pippin snorted at the mention of the movie before remembering who else liked it and the tears automatically started flowing. Frodo pushed play, handed Pippin the bowl of popcorn and put his arm around the other's shoulders. 

"Whatever it is, it's gonna be alright", he said. 

And Pippin really wanted to believe him.


	8. Chapter 8

The week passed in a blur.

Wake up - breakfast - school - home - dinner - sleep.

Repeat.

Friday after school, Pippin laid on his bed. He felt disconnected, anxious, irritated, afraid and perhaps slightly hopeful. It seemed as if he had seen Boromir constantly, even if it had only been during classes and sometimes around the house. 

They didn't talk, just met each other's eyes until one of them looked away (most often it was Pippin). He couldn't bear looking at Boromir for more than a couple of seconds at a time, ever since he had confessed his feelings for him. Pippin had not really counted on telling Boromir, ever, and now that he had he didn't know how to act around him. In some ways, it would have been easier if Boromir had either told him to keep away or suggest them just being friends. The thing that bothered Pippin the most was the moment when Boromir had told him to let him think about it before answering. 

First of all, who "answered" a confession? What was this, some lame ass shoujo manga where the gentleman protagonist tried not to break some loser girl's heart behind the school or on the rooftop? And how come students could roam freely on the school's roof whenever the felt like it, without any kind of supervision?

Secondly and more importantly, what was there really to think about? Couldn't Boromir bring himself to turn him down immediately? Or was it because, be still my heart, Boromir might actually have some feelings of his own? That was the forbidden thought that kept the hope in Pippin alive, much to his dismay. Of course he wanted Boromir to swoop in and tell him he loved him too. But He wouldn't want to wish for it and imagine it just to have his heart broken anew if Boromir decided that he didn't love him after all.

Pippin groaned into his hands, his brain had refused to mull over the situation and it had been all he could think about the entire week. Merry had several times been annoyed with him for not paying attention when spoken to, but Pippin hadn't told him why he was so distracted. He just couldn't, he was too ashamed and he didn't want to involve his friend in his self-absorbing drama.

In fact, he hadn't told anyone about what had happened. After their talk and Pippin's escape to Frodo, he had texted Aragorn to tell him he couldn't make it to dinner. When asked about it later, he had mumbled something about a migraine. Aragorn hadn't pried, thank god, and the matter was let go. Pippin sometimes noticed Legolas looking at him, like someone trying to figure out a puzzle, but he too had not directly asked Pippin anything regarding the matter. 

Frodo had kept his promise not to ask Pippin why he had come, and after the movie Pippin had spent the night, reluctant to return to his own room. 

All in all, it had gone better than expected. Not perfectly, but at least no one knew about his stupid crush and how embarrassing his confession had been. 

There was a knock on the door and Merry peeked inside. He furrowed his brows when he saw Pippin just laying there. 

"You look far too depressed for someone living out his youth in a foreign country without parental surveillance", he said and sat down next to Pippin. 

"I'm just tired, it's been a long week." Pippin turned over on his stomach and closed his eyes. 

"Oh come on, that's grandpa-talk. We're going out tonight!" 

"I really don't feel like it, bring someone else."

"Well, there are a lot of us going already, but I want you to come as well", Merry stood up and started dragging Pippin off the bed. He didn't let go until Pippin sighed and stood up as well. 

"I won't be having fun and I will most definitely go home early", Pippin warned as he looked through his wardrobe for something to wear. He really didn't want to leave the house tonight but he also knew that Merry wouldn't let him stay in his room all night either.

"Deal, although I guarantee you will have fun", Merry winked and left the room. 

Pippin got dressed and took a look in the mirror. He looked absolutely terrible and he could only hope that they were going somewhere really dark. He combed his fingers through his hair, noted that it did nothing to make it look better, and went after Merry. 

\-------------------------------

The music was loud, the people drunk but at least the lighting was almost non-existent. It was something. Pippin yawned form his spot at a table, watching most of the gang on the dance floor. Merry spun around with Frodo, Aragorn and Sam were doing something resembling dancing, and Legolas moved like someone straight out of dance studio, because of course he did. Gimli and Faramir sat next to Pippin and discussed something while Éowyn was getting them more drinks.

Merry had not been entirely wrong, Pippin was having a little fun, though tired and far too sober. However, he felt like it was time to leave. He told Gimli he was leaving and stood up after promising to take a taxi back to the house. 

This time he really did take a taxi and after thanking the driver he made his way inside and up the stairs as quietly as he could, he wouldn't want to wake anyone else. He had just unlocked his room when he heard the bathroom open. 

"Hey", Boromir said and looked surprised.

"Hey", Pippin repeated before reacting what just happened. He quickly turned back to the door and opened it. 

"Can we talk?" 

Pippin swallowed and thought about it before turning his head towards Boromir. 

"Yeah, sure", he went into his room and left the door open for Boromir, who joined him sitting on the bed. The situation was almost the exact same as the week before, only with more tension and Boromir was wearing significantly less clothing. 

"So... you wanted to talk?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The small shoujo manga-rant is all Pippin's opinions - let the records show I do not agree with him.
> 
> Also, I feel like this chapter was a bit short but I think the next chapter is probably gonna be the last in Pippin's story, before I'm moving on to the next pairing in the boarding house.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always welcome! ^^


End file.
